Method for disposal of radioactive waste

Abstract

In a method for the safe disposal of radioactive waste, a drilling rig is used to drill a hole or holes near the scource of the radioactive waste. This hole(s) then becomes the deposit chamber(s) for the radioactive waste. After the hole is dug a well casing is cemented in as is done for oil wells. The radioactive waste is put into stainless steel cylinders with a diameter less than that of the well casing, and with a central axial bore hole. These cylinders have screw threads on the top and bottom which allow them to be attached to each other similar to the way pipe sections are attached to one another in oil well drilling. After the cylinders are filled with radioactive waste, they are lowered into the hole using technology common to the oil industry. The cylinders are treated, in effect, as sections of drill pipe. The top of the last cylinder must be a safe distance below the bottom on any existing water table. The bottom cylinder must have a footing which will allow liquid to flow down from the central bore hole and back up between the cylinders and the wall of the well casing. Depending upon the level of radiation in the waste, one can circulate a cooling fluid around the cylinders by pumping the fluid down through the central bore hole and up around the outside of the cylinders. This fluid may be monitored for radioactive levels as appropriate. The final sealing of the hole is accomplished by pumping cement down through the central bore hole and up around the cylinders, displacing the cooling fluid, until the hole is completely filled.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method to safely dispose of radioactive waste for thousands of years which consists of drilling a bore hole from 2,000 to 10,000 feet below the surface of the earth; casing the hole using cement pump down the hole; putting stainless steel cylinders filled with radioactive waste into the hole; and wither cooling or sealing the waste using a circulating system such that: the cylinders have a diameter from two to six inches less than that of the inside diameter of the hole casing, a central axial bore hole with a diameter from three to five inches, and standard pipe screw threads on the top and bottom which allow the cylinders to be attached to one another;   the inside diameter of the well casing is from 15 to 30 inches;   the top of the last cylinder put in the hole is at least 1,000 feet, below the bottom of any existing water table through which the hole passes;   the bottom of the first cylinder put into the hole has a footing that allows liquid to flow down through the central bore hole, and back up between the outside surface of the cylinders and the inner surface of the well casing.